Kalsang Tsultrim also known as Gyitsang Takmig in a file photo (TCHRD)

DHARAMSHALA, January 5: A well known Tibetan writer has been sentenced to four years in jail by a Chinese court in eastern Tibet.

Kalsang Tsultim, also known as Gyitsang Takmik was given the sentence on December 30, 2011 by the Kanlho Intermediate People’s Court, according to media reports.

The sentence comes more than a year after Gyitsang Takmik, the author of the book Miyul La Phulwai Sempa (A Mind Offered to Exile) was re-arrested and held in detention without charge.

Barely a month after his release, Gyitsang Takmig was re-arrested on December 16, 2010 following an interrogation session by the Public Security Bureau of Tsoe City.

Gyitsang Takmig was arrested first on July 27, 2010 for committing what the Chinese authorities termed as "Political Error." He had widely circulated a Video Compact Disc (VCD) containing 'banned contents' that later made its way into exile as well.

In the hour-long video, Gyitsang urges the international community to "act swiftly on behalf of the Tibetan people" to end repression in Tibet while calling for the return of the Dalai Lama from exile.

He provides a detailed account of the suffering of the Tibetan people under Chinese rule and expresses his fears for the survival of Tibetan religion and culture and the general human rights abuses perpetrated by the Chinese authorities.

The message recorded somewhere in July 2009 was later edited with video footages and pictures for the final version which was widely distributed in many Tibetan areas of the traditional Tibetan provinces of Amdo and Kham.

At the time of his release in October 2009, following his first arrest, the officials had warned Gyaltsang Takmig that he remained subject to redetention for six months if he engaged in any political activity.

Kalsang was a monk at the Gyitsang Gaden Choekorling Monastery in Sangchu, Kanlho – a region which witnessed major pro-freedom protests during the March 2008 uprisings.